Shiftable work support for machines which straighten tubes or bars



Feb- 18, 1947- D. w. T. EVANS 2,416,048

SHIFTABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES OR BARS Y Feb. 18, 1947. 2,416,048 SHIFTABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES 0Rl BARS D. W. T. EVANS Filed Aug. 16, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 18, y1947. D. w. T. EVANS SHIFTABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES OR BARS Filed Aug. 16, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 I TEU @la Feb. 18, 1947. D w, T, EVANS I 2,416,048

SHIFTBLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES OR BARS Filed Aug. 1e, 1943 6 sheets-sheet 4 Febpl, 1947. D. w. T. EVANS 2,416,048y SHlFI'ABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES OR BARS Filed Aug. 1e, 1943 e sheets-sheet 5 Feb. 8, 194:7.v D. w. T. EVANS SHIFTABLE WORK SUPPORT FOR MACHINES WHICH STRAIGHTEN TUBES OR BARS Filed Aug. 16,1945 6 sheets-sheet e work pieces, the

Patented Feb. 1,8, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENroFFlcE SHIFTABLE WRK CHINES WHICH ST BARS David William Thoma England,y assign'or t Limited, Birmingham, Application August '16,

Irl-Great Britain Claims.

This invention relates to machines for Veif'ecting pressing, hammering or other operations von a metal tube, or bar, the machine being 'of the ykind in which the work piece is supported horizon-tally on a pair or" spaced anvils, and in which tions, but it may be employed for other purposes,

The task of lifting the work pieces into and out of the machine is usually performed manually, and when dealing with large and heavy task imposes a severe strain on the workers. The object of the present invention is to provide means whereby this task can 'be performed mainly by mechanical means.

The invention comprises the combination with -a machine of the kind aforesaid, of a horizontally :movable carrier, and means for raising the carrier at least in partV to enable it to clear the anvils during the horizontal movements.

In the accompanying sheets of explanatory drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine used in Vthe straightening of large and heavy work pieces (in the form of metal tubes or bars-o'fcircular or other cross section), and embodying the v invention.

Figure 2 is a viewsimilar to lbut drawn to a larger scale than Figure l with some of thepartsV omitted. A

'Figures 3 and 4 are sections taken respectively onthe lines 3*- 3 and 3 4 of Figure 1 and drawn to the same scale as Figure 2.

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a front View and a side View illustrating a modified form of the invention.

Figure 7 is a sectional side a further modication.

rIhe machine shown in Figures l to 4 lof the drawings comprises a horizontal bed a on which are mounted a pair of spaced anvils b,- each having a V or half round recess c in its upper side to support the work piece as d. The anvils b` are supportedon the bed at Vby wheels or rollers e which engageV llongitudinal guideways in the upper surface of the bed, and which facilitate adjustment of the anvils to vary the distance beview illustrating 'tween them, this adjustment being-ele'cted by a hand Wheel g through the agency of any convenient mechanism (not shown). On the main part h of the machine extending above the bed a is formed or secured a vertical hydraulic'cylinder i having a ram or plunger y, the lowerendof the RAIGHTEN TUBES 0R- s Evans, Sutton Goldfield, o T. I.

(Group Services) England Y 1943, .Serial No. 498,832 September 11, v1942.

latter carrying a tool 7c Aby which .straightening pressure can beapplied `to the V'upper side ofthe Work piece d` at aY position centrally between the anvils b. Also themachi-ne is provided with a pair of horizontalv arms m which arevsupp'orted by springs n 'and which (through the medium of rollers o) *supporty the'workpiece d near its ends. Thepurpose of the arms mfis to support the work piece d olea-r 4oi the anvils b` and allow the workpiece to be easily rotatedf'by the latt-endant tok enable him to detect thelackof straightness and the position at which the straightening pressure' is' to' be applied. The :purpose'of the springsv n is to enable'the arms m to yield vand `allow the work piece d to vbe pressed on to thee 4anvils bv by the pressure exerted bythe -plunger fi.

In applying my Vin-ventien'to the machine shown in Figures l to 4, I pivotally attach oneend oi 'eacharm m'to-a-slide 1U, and I mount 'on-fthe slide The track bar 'r is carried vby any convenientsupports as 26. Each slide p consists-of ytwo `main 'parts s, t. The part sof Yeach slide p is provided with `and supportedon the track bar-1` Aby rollers u, v, and w.- The other :part t of each slidep-is mounted 4on' the "corresponding part s and is l"slida'ble relatively t'o the Y'latter part in a vertical-direction: The lslide parts t carry the springs. n

jand the armsm, the latter being pivoted vat x to the said parts, 'and being arranged fto rest on the springs. The lower-portions -of "the slide parts s --are shaped-'to form -housings y which at their upper Isides nembrace the lower edge of the track bari', 'and which accommodate pinions a sli'dable on but'rotatable with a horizontal rotatable-shaft 2 passing through the housings, the pinions being `in engagement with racks -3 -on the 'vertically slidable parts t. Rotation of "the shaft -2 causes the slide parts t to -be 'raised "or lowered -as desired, the amount oi vertical movement provided being 'suflicient to enable the-arms im to be -liftedto a position clear 'ofthe tops 'of the anvils has shown in full lines in the drawings. lRotation of the shaft 2 may be` effected by `any convenient means. For example -I mountlontheftrackbar r at-faeposi.- tion between the two" slides 'pa thirdfslidellfwhich embraces the track bar and is adjustably secured to the connecting bar q. At its lower end the slide 4 is shaped to form a housing 5 which accommodates another pinion 6 rotatable with but slidable on the shaft 2.I `This pinion 6 is engaged by a vertically slidable rack 1 carried by the slide fi, the rack being operable by any convenient means such as the plunger 8 of a hydraulic cylinder S. Movement of the rack 'l rotates the shaft 2, and the latter transmits its motion to the vertically slidable parts t of the other slides p.

@Slidably supported by and extending transversely through the upper end of the slide 4 is a spring loaded catch member la adapted by engagement with the upper end of the rack 'l to retain the latter in a raised position in'which the arms m are clear of the anvils b, the engagement being such thatthe catch member cannot be retracted until the rack is given a small additional upward movement. Such additional movement is imparted to the rack 'I by the plunger 8 when it is required to lower the arms m, and serves to disengage the rack from the catch member Iii which can then be retracted against the action of its loading spring Il by a hand lever l2, the latter being adapted to act on the catch member through the agency of link and lever mechanism i3. Retraction of the catch member l permits the rack 1 to move downwardly without obstruction by the catch member. While the catch member l0 is held in its retracted position the plunger 8 is moved downwardly, thus enabling corresponding movement of the slide parts t and the rack 'l to take place under the action of gravity at a, rate controlled by the plunger. This movement continues until the work piece d is slightly above the anvils b as shown in broken lines in Figure 4. After the rack 1 has moved downwardly to an extent sufiicient to clear the catch member lil, the hand lever l2 is released and returned to its initial position (in which it abuts against a stop 2) by a spring I4. This enables the catch member IB to re-assume its operative position under the action of the loading spring Il, so that when the rack 1 is again raised it is automatically reengaged by the catch member, the upper end of the rack being adapted to ride over the adjacent end of the catch memberV during its upward movement.

Assuming the carrier (consisting of the slides p and arms m.) to be in the loading position at one end of the track bar r, a work piece d is rolled on to the arms from a deck situated at the level of the arms. by hand (or by power if desired) to the working position and the arms mI are lowered to a position in which the work piece d is slightly above the anvils b. The straightening operation is now carried out in the usual manner, the movement of the work piece d on to the anvils b by the plunger j of the machine being permitted by the yielding of the springs n which support the arms. After this operation has been completed the arms m are returned to their upper position in which they can clear the anvils b during movement of the slides p along the track bar r and the carrier is then slid along the track bar to the discharge position, which may be at the same side of the machine as the loading position, or at the opposite side.

The invention is not, however, limited to the example above described, as the details of construction may be varied to suit different requirements, Thus, the raising and lowering of the The carrier is then moved -5 and 6 each oi the slides arms may be effected by imparting vertical movements to the track bar, an example of this modification being shown in Figures 5 and 6, in which parts similar or analogous to those above described are indicated by the same reference characters suiiixed by 1. As shown in Figures p1 on which an arm m1 and spring n1 are mounted consists only of a member which is slidable on the track bar r1, and the track bar is carried by a plurality of vertically slidable supports I5. For actuating these supports any convenient mechanism is employed. Thus each support l5 may be provided with a rack i6 which engages a pinion l1 on a shaft i8, the latter being rotatable by any convenient `means such as another rack I9 which is operable by the plunger 20 of a, hydraulic cylinder 2l, and which engages another pinion 22 on the shaft. In the example shown in Figures 5 and 6, 23 indicates the deck from which the work pieces d1 are rolled on to the arms m1 when the slides p1 occupy appropriate positions,

A further modication is illustrated by Figure 7 in which parts similar or analogous to those above described are indicated by the same reference characters suixed by 2. In this example I employ a pair of track bars r2 arranged parallel with each other and situated respectively in front of and behind the anvils b2. The slides p2 are slidably supported on these bars r2, and the arms m2 instead of being pivotally attached to the slides may be supported at both ends on helical springs 24 carried by the slides. Vertical movements of the arms m2 may be obtained by constructing the slides with vertically movable parts or by arranging for vertical movements to be imparted to the track bars, as in either of the previously described examples.

By this invention I am able greatly to reduce the physical effort usually involved in the handling of heavy tubes or bars in straightening operations and other operations of an analogous kind Having thus described my invention what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A Ymachine of the kind specied having in combination a pair of spaced anvils for supporting the work piece in a working position, a pair of horizontally movable slides situated at opposite sides of the anvils and adapted to move the -work piece into and out of a position above the anvils,v each slide being composed of a pair of main parts one of which is capable of vertical movement relatively to the other, at least one fixed horizontal track bar supporting the slides, springs carried by the vertically movable parts of the slides, arms supported by the springs and adapted to support the work piece near its ends, the arms being movable by the vertically movable parts of the slides to enable the arms to clear the anvils during the horizontal movements of the slides, racks on the vertically movable parts of the slides, pinions engaging the racks, a rotatable shaft carrying the pinions, the latter being rotatable with but slidable relatively to the shaft, a third horizontally movable slide supported by the track bar, another pinion slidable on but rotatable with the shaft, a third vertically movable rack carried by the third slide and engaging the latterrpinion, means for imparting vertical movement to the third rack, and a spring loaded catch member for retaining the third rack in a raised position 2. A machine of the kind specied having in combination a pair of spaced anvils for supporting the Work piece in a Working position, a pair of horizontally movable slides situated at opposite sides of the anvils and adapted to move the work piece into and out of a position above the anvils, springs carried by the slides, arms supported by the springs and adapted to support the work piece near its ends, and means adapted to be brought into action under the control of the operator for raising the slides at least in part to enable them to clear the anvils lduring the horizontal movements of the slides.

3. A machine of the kind specified having in combination a pair of spaced anvils for supporting the Work piece in a working position, a pair of horizontally movable slides situated at opposite sides of the anvils and adapted to move the Work piece into and out of a position above the anvils, each slide being composed of a pair of main parts one of which is capable of vertical movement relatively to the other, at least one xed horizontal track bar supporting the slides, springs carried by the vertically movable parts of the slides, arms supported by the springs and adapted to support the work piece near its ends; and means adapted to be brought into action under the control of the operator for raising the vertically movable parts of the slides to enable the arms to clear the anvils during the horizontal movements of the slides.

4. A machine of the kind speciied having in combination a pair of spaced anvils for supporting the Work piece in a Working position, a pair of horizontally movable slides situated at opposite sides of the anvils and adapted to move the work piece into and out of a position above the anvils, each slide being composed of a pair of main parts one of which is capable of vertical movement relatively to the other, at least one iixed horizontal track bar supporting the slides, springs carried by the vertically movable parts of the slides, arms supported by the springs and adapted to support the work piece near its ends, the arms being movable in a vertical direction by the vertically movable parts of the slide to enable the arms to clear the anvils during the horizontal movements of the slides, racks on the vertically movable parts of the slides, pinions engaging the racks, a rotatable shaft carrying the pinions, the latter being rotatable with but sli'dable relatively to theshaft, and means adapted to be brought into action under the control of the operator for imparting movement to the shaft.

5. A machine of the kind specified having in combination a pair of spaced anvils for supporting the Work piece in a Working position, a pair of horizontal slides situated at opposite sides of the anvils and adapted to move the work piece into and out of a position above the anvils, springs carried by the slides, arms supported by the springs and adapted to support the work piece near its ends, at least one vertically movable horizontal track bar on which the slides are supported, and means adapted to be brought into action under the control of the operator for raising the track bar to enable the arms to clear the anvils duringv the horizontal movements of the slides.

DAVID WILLIAM THOMAS EVANS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

